1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to swimming pool covers, as they relate to raised wall shaped pools which have straight and arcuate walls which extend above the coping and deck of the pool which establish gaps in the pool cover coverage and in particular to a complimentary gap eliminating device cooperable with the swimming pool cover to insure complete coverage of the pool.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Covers for swimming pools are frequently used in climates where the pool is not used for certain periods of the year due to inclement weather. The pool cover is designed to be stretched across the pool and secured so as to prevent the ingress of dirt, waste material, or debris, such as fallen leaves during the off season. The cover also serves as a safety factor when the pool is not in use.
The swimming pool cover is typically a flexible, waterproof substrate or sheet of material, either impervious or fine mesh having a plurality of resilient, biased tie down straps secured about its periphery, the tie down straps being secured to a plurality of anchor bolts fixedly secured in the surrounding pool apron or deck, the resilient biased tie down straps being adjusted to achieve the desired tautness of the cover. In such a configuration, the pool cover covers the pool and the periphery of the surrounding deck or apron in an overlapping fashion, thus preventing ingress of debris into the pool during the off season.
Pool covers of the type described are easily installed on pools having a geometric shape, such as a rectangle, or an L-shape. They are also easily installed and effective with respect to pools, such as kidney-shaped pools and other pools having arcuate peripheries. In effect, covers of the type described are effective with respect to all pools in which the surrounding apron, deck or periphery is at one level or height.
A problem develops with respect to any shape pool which incorporates side walls of uneven height. The simplest example is a freeform pool which incorporates a waterfall, which waterfall flows over and into the pool from a rock wall or concave wall, the height of which is greater than that of the peripheral apron or decking of the pool.
Another example would be a freeform pool which incorporates a spa adjacent to the pool having a side wall higher than the peripheral apron or decking of the pool, and sharing a convex wall with the pool which may be of a different radius. In these instances, it is difficult to design a pool cover which will abut the curvatures of these walls having a height greater than that of the apron or decking of the pool.
Designs have been developed to secure a cover in as close approximation to these arcuate surfaces as possible, but in most cases there still remains a gap which allows for the ingress of dirt, leaves, and debris during the off season. This gap may further increase if the pool cover is subjected to loads such as snow or accumulated standing water. Still further, the gap varies as the pool cover installer adjusts the tension of the securing straps. Still further, this gap presents a safety problem due to its size, such that the possibility exists that a small pet or rodents could fall through this gap and into the underlying water.
Attempts have been made to provide a closure for the gap existing between the pool cover and the arcuate side wall. One such solution included the fastening of an additional waterproof flap to the end of the pool cover adjacent the arcuate wall and providing some weight and volume to this flap so that it would lie across the gap. This flap is commonly referred to in the trade as a bumper. The bumper is essentially an extension of the pool cover in that it is clipped or sewn to the edge of the cover. A sewn bumper proves difficult to fabricate and also to fold for storage when not in use. This has proved to be ineffective in that atmospheric conditions cause the clipped flap to disengage, pull away from the underlying pool cover or the wall, and fail to provide adequate and continued closure to the gap.
Applicant has developed an improved pool cover gap system which effectively closes the gap formed between a swimming pool cover and an arcuate or straight wall surface of greater height than the peripheral apron or decking about the pool, which is easily installed and provides an effective barrier to the passage and ingress of debris into the underlying water of the pool, and also closes the gap from a safety standpoint as it might relate to small pets or rodents.